Free Color Pages

In this issue we announce new charges for publication of color figures in the Journal of Histochemistry and Cytochemistry. The Council of The Histochemical Society (publishers of the Journal of Histochemistry and Cytochemistry) have decided to provide one full page of color figures per article at no cost to authors. Additional pages of color will cost $200 each. Black-and-white line art and grayscale figures will continue to be published at no cost to authors. The Journal of Histochemistry and Cytochemistry does not assess page charges. These new pricing policies mean that authors will be able to publish several pages of color figures with supporting line art and grayscale figures at very low overall cost in comparison with industry standards.

Please note that this policy applies to color figures that are judged by the editors to be necessary and appropriate for unambiguous reporting of new findings. Color figures illustrating findings that could be clearly communicated in a grayscale format may be recommended for traditional black-and-white format. However, we expect that these cases will be rare. Furthermore, color line art normally will not qualify for a free color page unless it can be printed as part of a page that already has acceptable color figures. This policy will help us maximize the number of color pages that we can afford to print while keeping the costs to authors as low as possible. In adopting these new low color page charges, we are making it feasible for authors to publish more of their histochemical findings at lower cost (essentially free if the color is limited to one page).

Authors who are interested in submitting articles with color to the Journal of Histochemistry and Cytochemistry should consult our new “Guidelines for Authors” at www.jhc.org/misc/ifora.shtml . All figures must be submitted in quadruplicate and must include one set with production-quality prints that are suitable for the printer. These can be either mounted photographs (please adhere closely to the Guidelines) or photographic quality dye-sublimation or ink-jet output. The printer requires a set of “original” color figures from the author to ensure that the final output of the printing process closely matches the authors’ originals. With the many variables involved in creating, translating, and printing color image files, this goal is not possible without a hard-copy original supplied by the author.

For color figures that are supplied as hard copy, please submit at the dimensions that the figures will appear in print. The maximum page size is 17.1 cm wide × 22.2 cm high. Please also supply image files with at least 300 dpi resolution or higher on a Zip disk or CD. Figures illustrating scanned images should be supplied as TIFF files with the labeling included in the image file. Line art should be supplied in EPS format.

The other three sets of figures are for reviewers’ use, and these figures should also be of a quality that is equivalent or nearly so to the production set. Unfortunately, copies made with most photocopy machines (as well as low-resolution ink-jet printers) are not adequate for editorial review purposes and usually must be returned to the authors for replacement before an article can be sent out for review. Authors can reduce the time required for a decision about their papers by sending the appropriate sets of figures with the original manuscript.

The Journal of Histochemistry and Cytochemistry recognizes that reporting the results of histochemical anaylses relies heavily on multicolored micrographs obtained by the use of multiple chromogens, fluorochromes, and dyes. Many of these studies are based on fluorescence and confocal microscopy, in which multiple labeling techniques are routine. Accurate reporting of these types of data demands figures with multiple colors and very high-quality color printing. The Journal of Histochemistry and Cytochemistry has long been at the forefront of biomedical publishing of high-quality color plates. We were one of the first biomedical journals to publish histochemical results with high-quality color printing, and we have an established reputation for excellence in this area. Today, our color printing continues to be done on very high-quality paper that is optimal for color reproduction. The color figures in our articles also appear in color on the online version of the Journal of Histochemistry and Cytochemistry ( www.jhc.org ), from which they can be downloaded as high-resolution PDF files.